Earths life support

• respiration


  the process in living organisms where the intake of oxygen oxidises organic substances to produce energy and release CO₂
• transpiration


  the evaporation of moisture from the pores on the leaf surfaces of plants

  
• atmosphere


  the thin envelope of gasses (mainly Nitrogen and Oxygen) that surrounds the earth

  
• biosphere

  the space at the Earth's surface and within the atmosphere occupied by living organisms
• precipitation


  moisture (rain, snow, hail) falling from clouds towards the ground

  
• evapotranspiration


  combined loss of water at the surface through evaporation and transpiration by plants

  
• groundwater flow


  the horizontal movement of water within aquifers

  
• water reservoir


  an area on the surface or within the ground where water is stored

  
• atmopspheric water store

  the total water stored in the atmosphere
• land water store

  the total water stored on land
• ocean water store


  the total water stored in the oceans
• water flow


  the movement of water between different stores
• oxidation


  a chemical process that weathers certain types of rock and involes the absorption of oxygen from either the atmosphere or water by rock minerals.
• combustion

  A rapid reaction between oxygen and fuel that results in fire
• weathering


  the decomposition or disintegration of material in situ
• system


  A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole
• water cycle budget


  the annual volume of movement of water by precipitation, evapotranspiration, run-off etc. between stores such as oceans, permeable rocks, ice sheets, vegetation, soil, etc.
• condensation


  the phase change of water vapour (gas) to water (liquid)
• sublimation


  the phase change of water from ice to vapour
• groundwater


  water stored underground in permeable and porous rocks known as aquifers
• sink


  anything that absorbs more of a particular substance than it releases, e.g. the oceans act as a sink for CO₂
• subducted

  the tectonic process found at convergent plate marigins where an oceanic plate descends into the Earth's mantle and is destroyed
• sedimentary rock

  A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together
• chemical weathering


  the in situ breakdown (decomposition) of rocks by chemical processes such as oxidation, solution and hydrolysis
• fast carbon cycle


  the rapid movement of carbon between the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere and soils
• phytoplankton


  tiny photosynthesising marine organisms in the surface waters of the oceans
• natural sequestration


  natural process by which carbon is captured and stored
• Goldilocks zone


  A place in the universe where conditions are right that liquid water can exist and humans could live.
• dew point


  the critical temperature at which condensation occurs
• intensity


  the amount of rainfall which falls in a given time
• channel precipitation


  rain which falls directly into the river channel
• interception


  the process by which water is stored temporarily on leaves stems and branches of vegetation
• stemflow


  the flow of water along the branches and stems of trees and other plants to the ground
• base flow


  water input to streams and rivers from natural resevoirs such as aquifers, peat bogs and soils
• recharge


  net input of water into an aquifer causing a rise in the water table
• percolation


  the movement of surface and soil water into underlying permeable rocks
• evaporation


  the phase change of water from liquid to gas
• leakage


  an output from groundwater stores within a drainage basin
• cumuliform cloud

  a cloud formed by convection with a rounded-top, lumpy appearance and flat base
• stratiform cloud

  clouds lying in a level sheet